Our acknowledgements to Dr Ruth Shady Solís and all the CARAL – SUPE/INC SPECIAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT team, for the valuable material provided at our request, thanks to which we have been able to offer a brief summary of the origins of American civilisations.

Caral, one of the most important civilisations in the world, was built by its inhabitants on a singular geographical site.

CARAL presentation

With this edition of our Annual Report 2003, we present CARAL , an introduction to the oldest civilisation in America, which tells us something of the formation of Peruvian culture in particular and American culture in general.

History and Archaeology are sciences that provide us with a panorama of man and his origins, but apart from looking backwards, they enable us to look into and discover the processes by which our society developed; concerns which, when understood, show us the direction in which the efforts of a given people, country and society lead.

The answers given by our ancestors in this land enable us to take advantage of positive experiences and reject those that have failed. José Martí said: “we should understand our own history before that of the Greeks because it is necessary for us” .

We understand the value of the men of Peru as creators of their own development, forging and adapting vicissitudes into the tools of progress.

In the foundation FOGAPI , created to benefit a community in progress, we understand that economic development is the basis for social development; access to credit for PYMEs arises from the development of businesses, providing them with the mechanisms and financial support in the form of guarantees which, in our environment, signifies an important element for growth and for the development of the nation.

There are always difficulties and they form part of a constant theme: overcoming a hostile environment and achieving success takes us back to our roots, the origins of the idiosyncrasy, the permanent change and success in combat adversity, at which Peruvians have always been successful... And this takes us to the origin of Peruvian civilisation... to CARAL .

Geographical location and comparative chronology of CARAL

In the Supe valley (Lima) located 182 kilometres from the capital, in north central Peru, 18 extensive settlements with public buildings showing the influence of Caral, the oldest civilisation in America, which developed almost at the same time as those of China, India and Egypt, 1500 years before the civilisations of Central America. Nevertheless, in contrast to Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India, which exchanged knowledge and experiences, Caral flourished in isolation, laying the foundations of the regional states of the Peruvian Andes and the Incas, 4000 years later.

Cultural manifestations of CARAL

Technological advances in agriculture and fishing affected the development of cotton production (clothing and nets for large-scale fishing) encouraging specialisation in employment and favouring complementary economic activity through continual interchange of products between fishermen and farmers. This made possible the accumulation of production, the social division of labour and trade over long and short distances.

Under these economic conditions science, technology and art developed. Knowledge of astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, biology, medicine and other sciences was used to produce a calendar, predict the weather, in architecture, irrigation infrastructure and farming, in the genetic improvement of plants, in public administration and in the manufacture of ceremonial, commercial and luxury artefacts.

Architecture

The most important vestiges of primitive American civilisation are its buildings, which include, in addition to residential constructions, pyramids of different sizes, platforms and circular areas, all of a complex and beautiful design, decorated, permanently cared for and maintained whilst they were in use.

Building techniques consisted of the use of quarried and carved stone and timber. These materials were transported using shicras or vegetable fibre bags. This same material was employed to make containers for stones to fill in platforms and other areas.

The Sacred City

The first state used the Sacred City of Caral as its seat of government and this occupied 66 hectares in the Supe valley, Lima, Peru.

The upper half of he city, located on a terrace close to the river, possesses 6 large pyramidal buildings as well as a large residential complex and groups of dwellings adjacent to some of the pyramids. The public buildings are distributed around a large central square and are made of stone dressed with clay and beautifully painted.

The lower half, on a low terrace contains smaller buildings among which the amphitheatre pyramid stands out, connected to a sunken circular platform that is bigger than the city.

Music

One of the most important cultural activities in Caral was music, at least so it appears from two discoveries made in the so-called amphitheatre pyramid. The first of these is a complex of 32 flutes made from condor and pelican bones decorated with engraved figures and painted red and black, showing anthropomorphic designs, monkeys, feline serpents and birds.

Group music practice in Caral is also evidenced by the second discovery: a set of 37 instruments, probably trumpets, made from camelid and deer bones.

At present a series of acoustic-archaeological studies is being carried out to reveal the sounds of this first American civilisation. nevertheless, the echoes of its art transcend the centuries and form the basis of a traditional culture which is still expressed today in the customs, ideas and aspirations of the American peoples... Five thousand years later.